46Do not be discouraged when rumors spread through the land; this year one rumor comes, next year another: “Violence in the land!” or “Ruler against ruler!”w47Realize that the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon; the whole land shall be put to shame, all her slain shall fall in her midst.
48Then heaven and earth and everything in them shall shout over Babylon with joy, when the destroyers come against her from the north—oracle of the LORD.x49Babylon, too, must fall, you slain of Israel, because by the hand of Babylon the slain of all the earth have fallen.

The Prophecy Sent to Babylon.59The mission Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah,* son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fourth year of his reign; Seraiah was chief quartermaster.
60Jeremiah wrote down on one scroll the disaster that would befall Babylon;* all these words were written against Babylon.
61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you reach Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud,c62and then say: LORD, you yourself spoke against this place in order to cut it down so that nothing, human being or beast, could live in it, because it is to remain a wasteland forever.
63When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates,d64and say: Thus Babylon shall sink. It will never rise, because of the disaster I am bringing upon it.” Thus far the words of Jeremiah.

* [51:1] The destroyer wind is the fierce dry wind from the east (cf. 4:11).

* [51:11] Kings of the Medes: the Medes and the Persians lived in the area known today as Iran.

* [51:27] Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: regions in eastern Asia Minor under the control of the Medes.

* [51:59] Seraiah: the brother of Baruch; cf. 32:12. He may have gone to Babylon to explain away the presence of foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem that same year; cf. 27:3.

* [51:60] Jeremiah prophesied against Babylon, even as he foretold Judah’s release from Babylon’s power (3:14–18; 32:15; 33:6–9, 12–13); but his scroll against Babylon was thrown in the Euphrates (v. 63). Some of the preceding oracles may have been composed by later writers; see note on 50:1–51:58.

By accepting this message, you will be leaving the website of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This link is provided
solely for the user's convenience. By providing this link, the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops assumes no responsibility for,
nor does it necessarily endorse, the website, its content, or
sponsoring organizations.